Jingle Bells
by Masami
Summary: Gon is invited to go to a family get-together at the Zoldick's. The problem? Killua's siblings are trying to kill Gon within the two days he'll be staying at their house. Will this Christmas be a happy holiday, or a complete disaster?
1. Chapter 1

+ Jingle Bells +  
  
[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HxH characters.]  
  
[Dedication: To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story ^-^ Hopefully this one won't end up in your trash can ^^;;]  
  
+ Chapter 1 +  
  
Snowflakes danced in the air elegantly as one of the most interesting celebrations of the year approached. The houses were decorated beautifully with colourful lights and Christmas trees; everyone was happy and excited about the Christmas season. Malls were filled with Christmas decorations, too, as almost every store had something for Christmas.   
  
An old man dressed as Father Christmas was sitting in the middle of a stage. It was designed especially for the special occasion with a big, red plastic sleigh and reindeers. It seemed like a very easy job, but many little kids who believed in Santa went to him, sat on his lap and told him what they wanted for Christmas. The elves beside him were trying to stop a naughty little boy from pulling off the Santa's beard.   
  
"Hey Gon! How's your job?" A boy came running to one of the elves. He had an unusual shade of hair -- silver -- and attractive big, dark blue eyes. He wore a white T-shirt and light brown pants, which were barely seen, for they were hid behind a large number of gifts and bags he was carrying.  
  
The elf turned to him and waved, he was both happy and surprised. "Hi, Killua! What are you doing here?" He took off his little green hat and whispered to another elf that he was going on his break. Then he went to join the silver-haired boy.  
  
"So Gon, is that your part-time job or something?" laughed the silver head. The two sat down by a water fountain. It was close to the stage where Santa was, so the elf could get back to his work quickly.   
  
The elf -- a boy with black hair -- chuckled. "Actually, it's a volunteer work," he said. "I stand there by Santa and prepare candies and toys we hand out to the kids. But trust me, it's not as easy as it sounds." He sighed, but his companion didn't understand what was so hard about it. "Well.... just now, this boy almost pulled off Santa's beard, and before that, a girl almost broke his legs because she was so heavy.... and my job is just to hand out the candies, but this girl got a lollipop stuck on my back!" He paused for a second, realizing that he was talking too much. "But enough about me.... how are you?"  
  
"Well....," the silver-haired boy stopped chuckling suddenly. The expression on his face showed hesitation. "I...."  
  
"What's wrong, Killua?" asked Gon curiously. He was worried -- his friend was an easy-going guy, and unless something was wrong, he wouldn't have been so silent. "What is it?"   
  
Killua hesitated a little, but finally, he looked up at Gon. "Well.... we're having a family get-together during Christmas and Boxing Day, so I was wondering if you'd like to come...." He then looked down again, wondering if Gon would go with him to the family get-together. The Zoldicks weren't exactly very friendly with Gon and his other friends when they went to the Zoldicks' mansion, but still, he wanted his best friend to join him for Christmas.  
  
"I'd love to go, Killua!" replied Gon cheerfully. But his expression turned into misery almost right away. "But I don't know....," he turned to look at the Santa. "I think I'll have to work here till noon, but then it'd be like a three-day trip to your house...." To Killua's surprise, the thing that worried Gon the most wasn't Killua's family.   
  
"Oh, don't worry," Killua was relieved that Gon wanted to go. "I'll just get one of the menservants to come dressed as an elf and take your place." After saying that, the first image that came into his mind was of one of those tough-looking guys dressed in a green elf costume with rubber fake ears on their ears.   
  
But Gon didn't look too convinced. "That's okay then, but.... your brother -- Illumi's going to be there, too, right?" He recalled being attacked by Illumi when they were at the Hunter Examination. There was no telling if Illumi would attack him again. After all, he was going right into the house -- a mansion filled with assassins.  
  
"I don't know about that," Killua stuck out his tongue. He thought for a moment and continued, "but the cook told us she'll make a stuffed turkey!"   
  
"Turkey? Okay, then!" replied Gon. "I'll go!" After waving bye-bye to Killua, Gon went back to complete his day of work as an elf. He was full of excitement. 'Who knows?' he thought to himself. 'It might be fun spending some time with the Zoldicks. They might not try to kill me.'  
  
However, the young, naive boy had no idea what the Zoldicks had in store for him. All he thought about was the stuffed turkey and a happy Christmas -- and spending some time with his best friend.  
  
* * * *  
  
It was three days before Christmas. Gon was still at the mall, in his elf costume. He had everything he'd needed for his stay at the Zoldick's, and he was waiting for a call from Killua. His cell phone rang just as he handed out some lollipops to the kids. "Hello?" he answered.   
  
On the other end of the line was Killua. "Hey, Gon!" he said. You could tell, from his tone of voice, that he was excited about Gon visiting his house. "I'll go pick you up right now. Then we'll leave for Kukuru Mountain right away."  
  
"Okay," replied Gon. "But where are you? I think the airship's going to leave soon...."   
  
"I'd like two pieces of chocolate cake," was Killua's reply.   
  
Gon frowned. "What did you say, Killua?" No reply. "What are you talking about?"   
  
"Thank you, come again." Another voice came. It wasn't Killua, Gon recognized.  
  
"Huh?" Gon was confused. "Killua, are you still there?!"   
  
"Oh, sorry," replied Killua finally. "That was the cashier from the pastry store." People were talking loudly in the background, and he could barely hear Gon, so he yelled, "SHADDUP!" and the loud noises in the background disappeared suddenly. "I'm in the food corner right now. I'll be right over." With that, he hang up and started running to the stage where Santa was.   
  
Killua had a bit of difficulty getting there, since he had a large backpack on his back -- filled with Christmas presents and other essentials -- and the big box containing his two pieces of chocolate cake in his arm. There were lots of people in the mall, so by the time Killua got to the stage, his cake was squished.   
  
"Let's go, Gon!" Killua winked at Gon, who'd changed to his normal clothes.   
  
They took their backpacks and left for the airport. The airport was crowded with people leaving for their vacation destinations, but by using their Hunter cards, they were able to get the best seats on the airship. They got a private room for themselves and in there were two soft, comfortable sofas, a tea table and even a TV.   
  
Killua asked Gon what he'd bought as Christmas presents as he opened the box of cake. All the Zoldicks would bring a gift to each other, as the tradition stated, so Gon was to do the same. Gon felt awkward trying to pick out gifts for Killua's family members, but since he was going to be with them for two whole days, he thought he'd try to make friends with them -- at least so that they won't be too unfriendly with him.   
  
Gon knew that there was no hope in trying to negotiate with the Zoldicks, but with Killua around, they probably won't kill him, he decided.   
  
"Well....," Gon looked down at his backpack he was carrying on his lap. "You'll see. It' be no fun if I tell you right now." He stuck out his tongue at Killua. Gon was wondering what Killua got for his family, but like he said, the gifts were supposed to be kept as surprises. Holding his backpack tightly to himself, Gon wondered if Killua would like what he got for him.  
  
"Fine," Killua stuck out his tongue also. "So.... hey, you want some of the cake?" He looked down to inside the box, which contained two pieces of cake -- actually, you can't tell what it was, since they were misshapen badly -- and chocolate frosting all over the place. Gon and Killua looked at the box with sweatdrops. "Damn," said Killua. "I knew I should have bought candy canes."  
  
+ tsuzuku.... +  
  
[Thanks again, Yomi-san ^^ Like you said, writing this story is actually a lot of fun ^^ Now that I have a guideline of what to write, I hope I can do at least a bit better than before ^-^] 


	2. Chapter 2

+ Jingle Bells +  
  
[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HxH characters.]  
  
[Dedication: To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story ^-^ Hopefully this one won't end up in your trash can ^^;;]  
  
+ Chapter 2 +  
  
"Look, Gon! We're almost there!" Killua looked out the huge window of the airship at the Kukuru Mountain, his home. Beams of sunlight reflected off the glass windows of the airport. It was another day with nice, sunny weather. Unlike the past Christmas, no trace of snow appeared in the clear sky, and peoples celebrating Christmas had to put artificial snow - also known as cotton and/or grinded ice - on their trees and in front of their doorsteps, causing most homeowners to slip and fall every morning.  
  
Putting down his backpack, Gon walked over to the window, too, and joined Killua in gazing at the magnificent view below. His large eyes sparkled, and excitement reflected upon them. "Wow!! This is so beautiful!!"   
  
Killua, with a smirk, stared his naive friend. For his home was a lot above sea level, he did not see what was so fascinating about the landscape below. However, he was more curious about Gon. He wondered secretly, just to himself, whether if the visit would go happily, considering all the unfortunate happenings that occurred during his last visit.  
  
The airship landed as the two boys grabbed their belongings and ran to the exit. The airport was crowded with people, but Killua knew exactly where to go. Squeezing between a fat lady and a kid with an ice cream cone in his hand, Killua and Gon reached the exit that would lead them to the taxis.  
  
"Kukuru Mountain," Killua said to the driver, and he and Gon climbed in, throwing their bags into the empty seat beside them. The driver was a happy-looking middle-aged man with a Santa hat on his head. He smiled at the two boys in a friendly manner and started to drive along the very packed roads, occasionally shouting "Hurry up!!" and beeping at other drivers in the front.   
  
"We don't have any taxis in Whale Island," Gon, who sat back and tried to relax after their short run to the taxi, told Killua.   
  
Killua chuckled. "That's because your island is too small," he replied. "But it seemed nice when I went to visit."  
  
To that, Gon smiled. He wondered if he would go home alive and get to see his Aunt and Grandmother again, after his visit at the Zoldicks'. He then reached for his backpack and hugged it tightly, and felt one of the wrapping papers sticking on the bag. ('I'll have to fix the wrappings when I get there,' he thought to himself.)  
  
It was a matter of few hours before the taxi reached the front door of the mansion. Killua paid the driver and stood in front of the great doors. "Come on, Gon," he said. "Let's go." Gon nodded in return, and the two pushed the doors open. Mike ran to Killua in greeting and licked him with his enormous tongue, getting Killua wet from head to toe. Killua frowned and rubbed his eyes.   
  
"Onii-sama, you're finally home." A quiet voice of a young girl came from the woods. The voice belonged to no other than Caruto Zoldick, Killua's younger sister. She patted Mike on his fur and turned back her attention to the stranger. "Is this our guest, Onii-sama?" Caruto's expression was just neutral. No Christmas spirit, but no murderous look either.  
  
"Yup, his name is Gon and he'll be staying with us for Christmas," Killua replied and examined Caruto's expression carefully. No trace of danger, Killua thought to himself, but then, Caruto was also a well-trained assassin, and it should have been very easy for her to hide her thoughts and expressions.  
  
Gon's eyes were also fixed at the young girl in kimono and her pet. He wondered, silently, if the gigantic animal was going to lick (or attack) him, too. His attention was focused on the two for some time, until Killua's "Let's go, Gon."  
  
"O-okay."  
  
+ + + +  
  
It was very unlike cold-blooded assassins to have their mansions in decoration fit for the celebration, even though the smaller of the mansions was for the servants to use, but there it was - Gon and Killua could hardly believe their eyes as they saw colourful lights on the roof of the servants' mansion, as well as the family's head servant dressed up as Santa.   
  
Goto noticed the two at once and bowed so deeply his Santa hat almost fell off. "Welcome home, Killua-sama, and welcome, Gon-sama."  
  
Killua's hand rose almost lazily for a greeting, but Gon's head went almost as deep as Goto. "Nice to see you again, Goto-san!!" he said, a tone of happiness in his voice. Killua's cat-like eyes went round in surprise, for he was never used to bowing at servants. Goto, too, was surprised. He blinked but did not know whether stopping Gon from bowing was ruder, or letting him bow at a servant was.  
  
"L-let's go, Gon," Killua grabbed Gon's collar. "Come on, if we hurry, we might get there before sunset. I'm starving."   
  
"Okay." Gon waved goodbye at Goto and left. Killua shot his manservant a warning glare - a glare that told Goto that no matter whose order it was, he was never, ever to let happen during Gon's visit - and caught up to Gon.   
  
On their way up to the mansion, Killua and Gon talked about their childhood memories of Christmas. Killua, being an assassin, was used to getting weapons from his family. "I got a machine gun when I was three," Killua laughed, exposing his teeth. "And I ended up shooting the ceiling down." Gon did not know whether he was to laugh. It seemed casual to Killua, but a machine gun was just too violent for him. Killua then changed the topic to Gon's Christmas.  
  
"Me?" Gon pointed his index finger at himself.  
  
"Who else is there?" Killua laughed again. "Yes, you."  
  
Gon looked up into the orange sky and thought for a moment. His Christmas had always been exciting in one way or other. Aunt Mito would make a huge dinner, and after dinner she would tell him a part of a Christmas story. Then, the morning after, he would find colourfully wrapped presents waiting for him down the stairs in the living room.  
  
"Well?" To that, Gon was brought back to the now dark forest. Beside him was Killua, waiting impatiently to hear his story.  
  
"Oh," Gon said. "Well, we always have fun on Christmas." Killua nodded. Gon could notice Killua's sadness, even though he was smiling. Assassins don't celebrate Christmas like normal people, he decided. So telling him what wonderful times he'd had would hurt him even more. "Aunt Mito would always tell me a story," he said at last. "She'd divided the story to parts, so that I'd have a lot to look forward to the year after."  
  
Killua didn't seem too interested in some dumb old Christmas story, but instead, he decided to listen to Gon's story.  
  
"Well, there once was a little boy," Gon told him. "He didn't have a family, and he was extremely poor. He always dreamed of having a decent Christmas with a family, but his wish never came true. The streets were cold, so he went to join a lot of other orphaned children, and together, they decided to have a party."  
  
There Gon paused, and Killua asked, "And then?"  
  
Gon smiled brightly. "I'm only going to tell you this much."  
  
"Didn't Aunt Mito finish the story?" Killua's eyebrow rose.   
  
"She did," Gon replied, "she finished it the year before I left to take the Exam, to become a Hunter."  
  
"Tell me then, how did they organize a party if they were so poor?"  
  
"I told you, I'll only tell you this much," Gon repeated. "I'm going to leave the rest till some other time."  
  
Killua looked disappointed, but also a bit excited. The puzzled yet joyous expression was back on his face after Gon's story. It had pumped some Christmas spirit into Killua, it seemed.  
  
Soon, when the two finally reached their final destination, it was very dark in the forests. However, there was a giant Santa-shaped light rested on the roof of the mansion, which made the assassins' home look more like Father Christmas' home in North Pole.   
  
"Weeeelcome hoooome, Killu!!" Kikyou, who looked more like an elf than the assassins' mother, rushed to her son and hugged him so tightly. The bell on her chest crashed onto Killua's face. "Mama missed you soooo much!!" She kissed him, and he wasn't able to get away from his mother's tight grip.   
  
Caruto, who had probably ridden Mike back to the mansion, was standing beside Illumi, the eldest son who had tried to kill Gon during the Hunter Exam. To the right of Illumi was the massive Milluki Zoldick, who carried two bags of potato chips, one barbecue flavoured, one salt in his left arm, and his right arm worked endlessly, supplying him with chips in his mouth.  
  
"So this is your friend." The tall, beefy man with silver hair, Silva Zoldick, stood with his father Zeno Zoldick. Killua gave a nod as his father's attention focused on Gon.   
  
"Nice to meet you, everyone!!" Gon smiled his brightest smile at Killua's family.   
  
No reaction. The entire family stared at Gon without a word.   
  
The only thing that broke the silence was Milluki's "Let's go eat, Mama, I'm famished." He wailed and his mother led the family and their guest into the mansion.  
  
+ + + +  
  
Despite the Christmas spirit, the family seemed to have had something against their young guest. Killua pretended nothing was wrong, but kept an eye on Gon in case any of his family members was to do something. Gon, on the other hand, unpacked his things happily in the very gorgeous yet cold room, which belonged to Killua. He did notice that something was wrong, but decided not to show it. It was Christmas, after all, and he had intentions of enjoying his first friendly visit to his best friend's house.  
  
Gon shoved his presents under the bed as a maid came into the room to call Gon and Killua to go downstairs for dinner. He turned to Killua, who nodded, and the three walked slowly down the stairs.   
  
The Zoldicks were already seated as they awaited their guest. Milluki was already drooling over the dinner with the fork and knife in his hands. Two empty bags of chips lay on the floor behind him. And when Gon arrived, Silva Zoldick rose his glass of wine and gave a toast. "To Killua's friend!!" he chanted.   
  
"To Killua's friend." Few murmurs that sounded very lazy were heard, followed by people taking sips from their glasses. Gon blinked and drank his glassful of red substance. He sniffed it first to make sure that it wasn't blood. Immediately, after the first sip, Gon's vision went blurry and he collapsed ever so suddenly.  
  
Killua's mouth went wide as he got up from his seat and rushed to Gon, who sat right beside him. "What have you done?!" He turned angrily to his family with his death glare, but all of the others shrugged and looked just as puzzled as he was.   
  
"Killuwa~!!" Gon started laughing all of a sudden. Killua then sweatdropped and noticed how red Gon's cheeks were, and how his eyes rolled was beyond control. Gon was drunk; no poison was ingested. 'There was no law stating 12 year-olds cannot drink,' Killua thought to himself, finally letting out a sigh of relief and sat back down on his seat. The dinner continued.  
  
+ tsuzuku.... +  
  
[Gyah!! It's WAY past Christmas already. Well.... here's the second chapter. Again, as I wrote in every one of (?) my other stories, please let me know if you spot any grammatical error(s). Thank you for reading!! All Hail the Lord of Tartarus!! XD] 


	3. Chapter 3

+ Jingle Bells +  
  
[Disclaimer: I do not own any of the HxH characters.]  
  
[Dedication: To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story ^-^]  
  
+ Chapter 3 +  
  
Gon slept well that night, as he was not himself because of the alcohol. In the dim moonlight you could see the child sleeping soundly and smiling to himself. He was dreaming of a very happy Christmas celebration, and that he was welcomed by the whole of Killua's family.  
  
Suddenly, with a rather quiet squeak, the door opened and a black figure entered the room. As anyone could tell by his height and beautiful long hair, he was Illumi - the eldest son of the Zoldicks. As he zoomed to Gon's side and held out three pins just over the boy's head, he jumped back in surprise.   
  
Gon opened his eyes all of a sudden and sat up. Illumi sweatdropped but decided to throw the pins at him anyway.   
  
"Yo, aniki [1]." Behind him was his kid brother, who was wide-awake. Killua had his hands on his hips, and demanded some explanations as he tapped his foot impatiently. Illumi strolled out of the room without a word and closed the door behind him.   
  
"Are you okay, Gon?" When Killua eyed his friend, he was sleeping soundly yet again. Killua yawned and went back to bed, but kept an eye on Gon in case his siblings had some more surprise for them.  
  
+ + + +   
  
When Gon and Killua got dressed the next morning, Gon started talking about his weird dream the night before.   
  
"A beautiful woman with long dark hair was right beside me," Gon said, pulling over his shirt.   
  
"But then she ran away for some reason."  
  
Killua remained silent as he listened to his friend's 'dream', which, as his friend probably did not know, was real. And the beautiful woman was his older brother. If the situation was not as serious, he would have laughed at the fact that his friend had mistaken his brother for a girl, but knowing that Gon could be in danger, he kept alert at all time.  
  
The knock on the door told the two kids that breakfast was ready. "Killua-sama, Gon-sama," the maid opened the door and entered, "Please come downstairs for breakfast."  
  
"Let's go, Killua!!" Gon smiled.   
  
"Oh, sure...."  
  
+ + + +   
  
"So what's your plan for today, Kikyou?" Silva Zoldick asked his wife while extending his hand towards his glass of milk. Milk was an essential part of breakfast, even for assassins. Also, the freshly baked muffins, bowls of cereal, a carton of orange juice and a basket filled with fresh fruits were displayed on the grand dining table.   
  
Kikyou put down her spoon and replied, "I thought I'd continue on knitting the scarf," she replied. Killua's eyes went very wide. He could not believe there were normal qualities about his family.  
  
"What are your plans, Illumi?"  
  
Illumi, without expression as always, turned to his father and replied casually, "I have two jobs to be completed today, but I'll probably finish quickly." He then shot Gon a look from the corner of his eye, which Killua did not miss. And from what his older brother said, Killua thought of the possibility that his job of the day might involve his friend Gon.   
  
"What are you two doing?" Silva continued to ask.   
  
Gon and Killua looked up. "I was thinking of giving Gon a tour of our mansion," Killua replied after swallowing his mouthful of muffin. "It'll take the whole day, or even more than that."   
  
Gon's expression brightened. A whole day of fun was ahead of him.   
  
After breakfast, Killua immediately dragged Gon to every corner of the mansion. From Milluki's room filled with computers and anime goods to the big but empty training rooms, they spent the entire day exploring the whole mansion.   
  
"Let's go explore the entire mountain," Killua suggested as the two boys rushed up the stairs to their room, all exhausted from the day's excitement. Even though the two had a lot of energy, the Zoldick mansion was huge, and exploring the whole of it was tiring.   
  
Gon hesitated for a second before speaking out. "Actually....," he began, "I thought we could organize a Christmas party. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve." He did not want to disappoint Killua, as his friend looked awfully excited about taking him on a tour. But the truth was, that he really did want to get to know the Zoldicks, and having a Christmas party might just do the trick.   
  
"Sure," Killua replied, not looking disappointed at all. He was, in fact, happy to see that Gon was excited. "Let's plan everything tonight, and we'll decorate the family room as soon as we're done the planning."  
  
"Then we'll be able to get the whole thing done by tomorrow!!" Gon smiled as he nodded, and the two rushed to their room for all the planning.  
  
+ + + +   
  
Killua decided to order his presents online. He asked Milluki if he could borrow one of his many computers, and after Killua's threat of breaking one of his figures, he agreed. Killua then sent him away - with the promise that he'd treat the computer nicely. The presents arrived right away due to the fact that Killua added extra money to have them delivered as soon as possible. They were all nicely wrapped and tied with ribbons.   
  
With his presents ready, he went back to his room and joined Gon in making plans for the party and what to use for decorations.  
  
"We'll need a tree," Gon pointed out, and Killua said they could cut one from the backyard. As for the other decorations, Killua said they could ask the servants, because the servants' mansion was nicely decorated.   
  
Going down the list, Gon crossed out the tasks as they were completed and prepared. And lastly, Gon smiled and said, "Presents."  
  
"What did you get me, Gon?" Killua asked anxiously.  
  
Gon stuck out his tongue. "It's a surprise."  
  
"Oh, come on, tell me!!"  
  
"No, you have to wait till Christmas morning."  
  
Unknown to the two boys, the planning of a secret assassination was being done in Milluki's room. The members were Illumi, Milluki and Caruto. Illumi and Caruto discussed the secret plan while Milluki was away to get more chocolate chip cookies, and just as the two decided to let Gon enjoy his last Christmas, Milluki burst in.  
  
"Guys - guess - what - " He panted as he made an effort in crawling towards his siblings, and continued as if he just had a heart attack. "I - heard - them - talking - "  
  
"What is it, Onii-sama [2]?" Caruto blinked.   
  
"They're - planning - "  
  
"Planning....?"   
  
"A - CHRISTMAS - PARTY!!!!" Milluki finished breathlessly.   
  
"A WHAT?!" Illumi and Caruto said, surprised. Although their expressions did not change, the tone of their voice told Milluki that they were extremely shocked.   
  
"B-but that's so.... not like assassins," Caruto frowned.  
  
"Yeah, and it'll ruin our image," Milluki added, not knowing that the others thought he had ruined the Zoldicks' image badly enough.   
  
Illumi sighed as he said, "Then we do it tonight. He'll be dead before he could throw that party." The other two siblings nodded in agreement.  
  
As night approached, Gon and Killua climbed onto their beds and pretended to have fallen asleep. The moment they heard nothing but silence, the two boys snuggled out the decorations that they had hid under their beds and sneaked down the stairs.   
  
"The tree should go there, Killua," Gon whispered in the darkness as he took the ribbons and ornaments and Killua dragged the tree. Killua nodded and placed the tree beside the fireplace.  
  
The two boys worked fairly fast, and as the clock struck midnight, they looked around at their masterpiece - a beautifully decorated room filled with Christmas spirit. Gon yawned as he noticed that it was getting very late. "Should we go back to bed now?" Killua got up and was about to leave.   
  
"Wait, we still have to put the presents under the tree!!" Gon pulled Killua's arm. And just then, a sharp object flew directly at Gon. He ducked immediately, and the pin went through the branches of the tree and onto the wall. The wall cracked.  
  
"What was that?" Gon blinked. Killua realized that his siblings were right outside the room, using Zetsu to hide their aura.   
  
To the two young boys' surprise, instead of going away, Illumi, Milluki and Caruto entered the room. "Killu, don't interfere," Milluki glared at his little brother.  
  
Gon felt the blood-chilling aura that the assassin siblings emitted. He took a step back as the three advanced.   
  
"Aniki.... what are you doing?!" Killua asked, although the answer seemed quite obvious. He thought of fighting his brother, for he had not done so during the exam and risked his friend's life. But he also knew that he was not nearly strong enough to take all three of his siblings by himself.   
  
Illumi ignored his question and stepped forward some more. Gon felt his back pressing against the wall. He had nowhere to run or hide, and the assassin was right in front of him, ready to kill him at once.  
  
+ tsuzuku.... +  
  
[Chapter 3.... ugh.... Does this story even make sense now? Methinks 'tis getting weird.... Oh, no - too much Shakespeare in English class (X_x)  
  
Oh, and Japanese words: [1] aniki means big brother, and [2] onii-sama means big brother also, but in a more polite way.] 


	4. Chapter 4

**+ Jingle Bells +**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in Hunter x Hunter.

**Dedication:** To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story

**Author's Note:** I've kind of forgotten all about this fic (yeah, the plot, where the story was when I left it, and how it was going to end…), until I received a review a few days ago. I've decided to continue, because I realize that there are people who actually wish to find out what happens in the story, and I really don't want to leave this one unfinished. It's my first "properly formatted" story, after all. Before this one, I didn't even know to form proper paragraphs. Sorry to those of you who have been waiting; enjoy chapter four.

**+ Chapter 4 +**

Illumi produced another pin and held it in front of his face, ready to fling it towards the young boy at any moment. Gon gulped and froze in place. He did not dare move one micrometer, or break eye contact. Watching his big brother's every move made Killua nervous, and every moment seemed more like the end of his friend than the previous. Though the room was pitch black and no sound was made, the two friends were sure that Illumi was aware of everything. His catlike eyes seemed to have the ability of piercing through darkness, and reading the minds of all of his victims.

"What are you doing here so early in the morning?"

Lights came on suddenly, but buzzed and then went off as the high-pitched squall echoed. Beside the light switch by the door were Silva and Kikyou Zoldick. The mister and missus looked rather odd in their matching Santa Claus and Rudolph pyjamas. Killua would have laughed at if the situation were not so serious.

"Illu, are you trying to kill our guest?" Silva asked in a doubtful tone, raising an eyebrow, ignoring the fact that his son would have a hard time taking him seriously in the joyous pyjamas.

"And why are you in the living room?" Kikyou added. "It's way past your bedtime, boys! I'm so proud that you've become creatures of the night; you've grown up so much! Oh, you boys are going to become such amazing assassins! But that's beside the point. What have you been doing up?"

"We were planning a Christmas party, you know, very assassin-ish stuff," Killua replied quickly. "And aniki here tried to kill Gon."

Silva rubbed his chin. "A Christmas party?" he repeated, and then turned to Illumi, who had put away his weapon the second the parents came into the room. He then realized that his well-trained siblings who also happened to be his accomplices have also disappeared. "Illu, my son, you should know better than to try to kill your brother's friend when he's trying to plan a Christmas party."

Kikyou nodded in agreement. "Yes, Illu, you've been a bad boy. Now apologize to Gon-kun."

Killua sweatdropped as his mother talked as if she had refused to believe that Illumi was older than five years. He then made a face as his brother looked at Gon straight into the eyes, and said, "Okay, I shouldn't have tried to kill you when you were trying to plan a Christmas party. I'll kill you later, when my parents and Killu aren't around."

"It's okay, Illumi-san," Gon replied in a forgiving tone, with his usual smile. "It could happen to anyone." At least Killua's parents were on his side – for now, he thought.

"Now that that's solved," the light that denotes Kikyou's emotions flashed green, "why don't we let them plan the party? Come now," she dragged her husband, and then her eldest son out of the room. Killua and Gon were now alone, with a lot of planning to do. Needless to say, they were both very relieved.

"Well, I think the decoration's done," Gon said, clapping happily at the beautiful room which had been transformed into a colourful room filled with holiday spirit. He and Killua had added an extra touch to improve on the already beautified room, for apparently, Milluki had stepped on a few of the items that had fallen from the tree and the walls, and they were now beyond recognition.

"Yeah," Killua grinned. "The tree is there, covered with decorations, we have multi-coloured lights up along the edge of the ceilings and the window frames, the wreath looks good on top of the fireplace…." He examined the room once again, and everything seemed perfect. But of course, he, being an assassin of this Zoldick family, was confined within his family's territory for a good part of his life, and did not know what "normal" people did, or how they celebrated Christmas.

Gon joined Killua in inspecting the room. "Wait, Killua," he gasped suddenly, "We're missing an angel or a star for the tree." He pointed at the very top of the tree, which looked bare compared to the rest of the evergreen.

"An angel or a star?" Killua made a face and scratched his head. "Where the heck are we going to find one?"

As Gon and Killua were both aware, figurines of an angel or great, big stars were not something one could find easily in the assassins' quarters. For one thing, they probably never celebrated Christmas the "common folk" way, as Killua had mentioned receiving a machine gun for Christmas one year, when he was younger.

"How about we make one?" Gon suggested. "We can papier-mâché one, or build one out of clay, or…."

"Those would take forever to dry, and we don't have much time," Killua sighed. "It's already past midnight, so it's Christmas Eve today. You said Christmas parties usually start in the evening, right?"

Gon nodded. "And after this, we have to come up with a special Christmas menu and give it to your chefs, and then we'll put our presents under the tree, and pick which Christmas carols we'll all sing later."

It was hard enough for the young assassin to attempt to imagine having a proper family dinner, with all members of his family (plus his friend) surrounding a dinner table. The family had never spent much time together except for one of the elders' birthdays or for a celebration after a job well done (or "people well murdered"). Singing Christmas carols as a family was out of the question.

"W-well," Killua cleared his throat. "How about we do the menu first? That might be easier. And at the same time we can try to think of what we'll do for the angel or star."

So it was agreed that they would first work out a carte-du-jour. First up on their list was the roasted turkey, which they did not think would be a problem, for the family was planning on having turkey anyway, as a tradition. Gon was rather relieved that there was, indeed, a possibility that the family could be somewhat normal. But he was proven wrong with Killua's suggestion of having Yorkshire pudding made with chocolate and marshmallows.

"I've heard of it before somewhere," Killua licked his lips as he imagined a rich, delicious sweet with marshmallows imbedded and covered in chocolate syrup.

"Yorkshire pudding isn't a dessert," Gon sweatdropped. "It's like a soufflé with gravy sauce. It tastes really good with roasted beef."

"Mito-san made it for Christmas, huh?" Killua asked, and his friend nodded with a lively smile. "All right, so roasted turkey, Yorkshire pudding… what else do we need?"

"How about a salad?" Gon suggested. "I think I remember how Mito-san used to make it." His face brightened, "I know, she used a lot of that plant she picks from our backyard, and those small red berries from that old tree…."

As mouth-watering as a salad made with unidentified plants sounded to Killua, he preferred having a bowl of good old fruit salad – with a whole lot of added sweetening and every kind of tooth-decaying bonbon.

"But it's Christmas," Gon argued. "Fruits-and-candies-coated-with-sugar just doesn't sound like Christmas."

"Well I like it," Killua snorted, and stuck out his tongue. "I'll just have the chef make a bowl just for me. Don't ask me for any of my salad if your poisonous leaf-and-berry salad doesn't taste good."

Gon gave Killua a look as his friend had just insulted his beloved Aunt Mito's cooking. "It's not poisonous, it's delicious!" He objected, waving his arms in annoyance. "You're not getting any!"

"Fine, fine," Killua chuckled. Gon's actions were rather endearing, and the two friends could not stay mad at each other for long. They decided to call it even. Besides, the salads were not their real enemy; their real foes were far worse than that, and they would really need to work as a team if they wanted the naïve Whale Islander to survive this festive season. "We'll just each have our own salad." And Gon agreed.

"Okay, now for dessert," Gon's face brightened once more. "I'm thinking a sugar plum cake. That and also cookies and milk for a light snack."

"Sounds good," Killua nodded. "We can have the chefs cut cookies into Christmas shapes!"

"Good idea! Oh, hey, why don't we do that ourselves?" Gon suggested.

"Y-you mean like… _us_? We bake the cookies?" Killua sweatdropped and gulped, his eyes round as ping-pong balls.

"Yeah, that way the cookies will be more special," Gon's mouth widened into a toothless grin.

Killua continued to sweat. He recalled his friend making a very creative platter of "sushi" during the Hunter Exam, which did not seem too edible, and seriously doubted his friend's abilities in the kitchen, as his best dish, which Gon proudly announced during the Exam was "rice mixed with raw eggs".

_Could this be the first serious threat to the Zoldick family?_ Killua thought to himself as Gon jotted down his idea.

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 5

**+ Jingle Bells +**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in Hunter x Hunter.

**Dedication:** To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story

**Author's Note:** Exams are done and commencement is over. High school is officially over. I shall try to write (well and do other things too) as much as possible during this summer – well, during the evenings and nights, anyway. I'm working a full-time day job.

**+ Chapter 5 +**

The two young Hunters marched through the elegantly engraved steel doors, into the grand kitchen of the Zoldicks' mansion. Inside were about twenty men and women, all dressed in white, with a puffy chef's hat on each of them. A small group seemed to be going over a schedule, which was written on a blackboard to the side, beside the ovens. As bizarre as the Zoldick family was, their cordon bleus did not at all reflect that. In fact, they resembled a rather normal group of cooks. One might say that the group could be working for a hotel, which may feed anywhere from hundreds to thousands of customers, but the Zoldick family had its reasons for hiring so many of them. One of the offspring in particular resembled a black hole – he gave the impression that he was never full, and he could make vanish any foodstuffs that were presented to him within seconds. He was rumoured to have once eaten the entire buffet at a fellow assassin's party, and a few minutes later, charged into the kitchen through the (closed) doors, demanding more food because he was still hungry. The doors, refrigerators and ovens never stood a chance – not to mention the many chefs that were pressed to the ground during thatlittle stampede of Milluki's.

As Killua and Gon walked past the pastry chefs, they quivered and began to sweat. They tried their best not to show their nervousness as their young master (and his friend) passed, but their effort came short. Killua raised an eyebrow as they trembled and continued to walk, wondering if they had woken up on the wrong side of the bed that morning. But the truth was, that the pastry chefs felt uneasy because of the presence of Killua himself, as he was much like his older brother, except for with him it was just chocolate pastry instead of all kinds of food. Because of his sweet tooth, he had great appetite as a consumer as well as connoisseur. He is used to enjoying all kinds of chocolate, his favourite being the ever-famous "chocolate balls" which he buys boxes of, excluding the days when he felt cranky – and when such day came, it was living hell for the pastry chefs. Killua would pick on every little thing that is, in his opinion, wrong with the pastry with occasional death threats inserted – though he would end up eating the dessert anyway. Though he had not yet murdered any of the pastry chefs to date, they were frightened of him and did not wish to cause him annoyance.

"Hey you," Killua said to one of the chefs who was cutting some potatoes into small cubes. The chef dropped the potato and knife in surprise when approached by the young assassin. He looked rather jumpy as he turned, as the young master was no usually seen within the kitchen. "Here, we made a list of dishes for tonight's Christmas dinner. Make sure you make it according to our list."

"Y-yes, Master Killua," said the chef quickly, and bowed as Killua walked towards the counter, away from the agitated potato chef. Gon poked at Killua's shoulder to remind him about their (Gon's, to be more precise) plan to bake Christmas cookies. Killua hesitated but decided that he would just help with the whole cookie-baking process, and then be the nice little boy that he had always been, and let his second eldest brother have all of his cookies. Yes, that would definitely prevent him from having the runs.

"You, are you the head chef?" Killua went behind one of the other chefs near the biggest counter, and called to him. Without waiting for a reply, he added, "I need to use this counter and the oven and everything I need to bake cookies."

"Yes, Master Killua." The chef put down the bowl of carrots on his own counter and called several others over, and gave them instructions. Within moments the group scattered. Some began to gather the ingredients, and some rushed to clear the counter to create a workspace for their master. Killua tapped his toes impatiently as he and Gon waited.

"M-Master Killua," said one of the chefs with a shaky voice, "Will you need a recipe?"

"Do we, Gon?" asked the assassin.

Gon nodded. "I don't remember how Aunt Mito used to make them. I just remember helping her decorate them once, with lots of frosting and sprinkles."

After a few minutes, the chef returned with a rather thick binder, filled with laminated and colourful pages of recipes for cookies. They were all categorized by type. From chocolate chip cookies to cutout cookies to drop cookies, each recipe was accompanied by a clear list of ingredients as well as an appealing photo. Killua flipped through the binder and looked for what might be suitable for the festive season, but was distracted by the ever-alluring pictures on the page for the "Double Chocolate Chip Cookies."

"I don't think they were chocolate cookies," Gon scratched his head as he attempted to recall. "I think they were just flat cookies. That way you can decorate on the surface without getting frosting all over the place."

With that, Killua turned to the section labelled as "Cut-out Cookies." He held the pages that said butter cookies and sugar cookies, respectively, for "shortbread" and "ginger cookies" did not sound cookie-ish to him. His idea of a "cookie" was more along the lines of "something that was a hundred times sweeter than sugar, with chocolate coating and chocolate chips embedded or sugar sprinkles on top."

"Yeah, I think that's what Aunt Mito used to make," Gon pointed at the sugar cookies. "Minus the decorations, of course."

Killua seemed satisfied with the inclusion of the word "sugar."

Within a few more moments, Gon and Killua were both in white aprons a few sizes too big for them. Though the chefs had made effort in making them fit, the aprons, made for adults such as the professional chefs in that very kitchen, slipped and found themselves on the ground, and sometimes under the shoes of the young boys. It was rather fortunate that no one had spilled anything on anyone (or anything) else.

"Okay, I'll read the list of ingredients. You bring them closer to us," Killua ordered as he pointed to the counter, now clustered with various baking goods. "Butter, white sugar, eggs…." The list went on, and as Gon struggled to find the right items, he noticed that the Zoldick chefs were staring at him out of the corner of their eyes. Their expressions remained neutral, but there was a bit of uneasiness in their eyes. They say that the eyes are the windows to one's soul, after all. Gon gulped and hoped that they were not as unwelcoming as he had previously expected Killua's family to be. But then, they were just chefs. Although they held butcher knives and ice picks on occasions, they were merely trained to make platters with them. Then again, they were _Zoldick_ chefs. Gon shivered at the thought of being chased by a group of insane chefs crackling madly at him, with knives in their hands.

"I think we have everything," Gon concluded after a long pause. "Let's start. We have to get everything done quickly."

Killua nodded in agreement. "First, we have to mix the butter and sugar until it's smooth." He glanced through the ingredients on the counter and located them, which Gon then took and dumped into the bowl. "Wait, Gon, we only need one and a half cups of butter and two cups of sugar!"

But it was too late. An entire bar of butter and a bag of sugar had disappeared into the bowl. Gon sweatdropped and scratched his head, and decided that he should wait until all the instructions were read. He then took a spoon and tried to scoop out an approximate amount of each of the ingredients. His attempt in rescuing the butter and sugar were somewhat of a success; at least there was not a humongous mass of paste anymore.

"Add in four eggs and one teaspoon of vanilla," Killua continued. They each took two eggs and cracked them by the side of the aluminium bowl, then poured in their contents. After the vanilla was added, they were ready to move onto the next step. "Stir in the flour – five cups, baking powder – two teaspoons, and salt – one teaspoon."

Although the two boys were beginners at baking, they were able to produce a paste that somewhat resembled cookie dough. As the instruction stated, they were to cover up the dough and chill it for at least one hour. They left the dough in the large aluminium bowl that they were using before, and covered it with a lot of plastic wrap, tightly enfolded around the bowl. It was then placed in one of the enormous refrigerators, strategically placed in the corner of the kitchen. There were four fridges, in fact – one in every corner. As the chefs were aware that the second oldest assassin might charge at the kitchen, placing it in the middle of the kitchen, which faced the entrance directly, was not a particularly clever idea.

"Oh, yeah," Gon gasped suddenly as the two boys walked out of the cooking area. "We still need an angel or a star for the Christmas tree. I'd prefer an angel – it'd add to the holiday spirit. But where would we find one?"

Killua snickered. "Well, an angel is like a girl with wings and a halo, right?" His friend nodded but continued to wear a confused expression. "I know where we'll get us an angel." He seemed to be in good humour as he headed for the living room, and Gon followed.

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6

**+ Jingle Bells +**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in Hunter x Hunter.

**Dedication:** To Yomi-san. Thank you for giving me useful advice, and also the idea to write this story

**Author's Note:** Wow, it's been over 4 years since the first chapter of this fanfic was posted. Time sure goes by fast. I am now in second year university, and free time is really limited, so I don't know if I'll be able to update much – not that I've been doing much of that lately – but I'm sure I'll get this story done no matter what. I just don't know when I can finish it by. Thank you so much for all your support, here's chapter six.

**+ Chapter 6 +**

Sneaking into the personal bedroom of Milluki Zoldick was a difficult task, as he was in front of his computers – possibly his only source of entertainment other than pigging out – twenty-four seven. This was made even trickier when Killua suggested that he and Gon use one of his "babies" – also known as plastic figurines – for the angel on top of the Christmas tree. Milluki, the massive second eldest son of the Zoldick family, was obsessed with his figurines, and would kill anyone who dared to even suggest laying a finger on them, but his brother Killua believed that this was their last hope in finding an angel in time for the party. He had tried the Internet, and failed, as it was the season for holiday joy, family gatherings and also a time for all to take some time away from the computer.

The two boys peeked in from the crack in Milluki's door. They let out a deep breath as they made sure that Milluki was not about to turn and being throwing anything at them. He was too preoccupied with a new game he was playing. Milluki's room was huge. There were four main parts to this bedroom – the computer space, which included four main computers and two backups; the figurine cabinets, which were home to over a thousand different anime and game characters – all female; the gigantic walk-in fridge (the door was designed so that it can also be opened from the inside, so that people don't get locked in and freeze to death – or break the door attempting to get out) and shelves of snacks, which had a larger variety of junk food than any supermarket; and finally, his king size bed. Rumour had it that the bed he owned used to be a waterbed, until he decided to bounce on it as a boy, and broke it.

'See that figurine right there in the display shelf, the second one from the left?' Killua pointed out quietly, and Gon nodded. 'That's… I forgot her name but she's supposed to be the angel character from some anime. He was really obsessed with her a while back and muttered about her day and night, he even killed someone out of rage because the poor guy didn't know this character. Anyway, I think she'd be perfect for the tree.'

'But Killua,' Gon tagged onto his friend's sleeve, 'Won't he kill us if we take it? We should ask for permission.'

Killua sweatdropped. 'He'd kill us before he'd ever give us permission. That's why we have to take it without him knowing.'

'But how?' Gon frowned. 'He's an assassin just like you! There's no way we can get it without him noticing us.' To that, his assassin friend gave a playful smile and replied, 'Which is why,' he snickered, 'One of us has to distract him while the other _borrows_ it.'

'But which one – ' Before he could finish his sentence, Killua's smile widened and before he knew it, the black-haired boy was inside the room. 'Darn you, Killua,' he mouthed silently, to which Killua replied with an evil yet playful grin, but before Gon could see that grin, Killua had already moved to the other side of the room, quite close to Milluki's collection. He concealed his aura, and hid behind the one of the display cabinets.

"Who's there?!" Milluki turned suddenly towards the door, and spied a very nervous and shaky young boy. "It's YOU," his narrow eyes narrowed even more. "What are _you_ doing in my room?"

_Um, good question_, Gon thought. Cold sweat began to run down Gon's face, and he froze in place, much like a statue. He became increasingly nervous as Milluki decided to let his porky legs carry him closer to the boy, and examined him closely with his narrow eyes.

"Well Mamma said we shouldn't kill our guest," he spoke up finally, after what felt to Gon like eternity. "I guess I shouldn't kill you just yet. If she finds out, she might go crazy and not let me have Christmas dinner." Gon let out a sigh of relief, but he gulped as Milluki continued, "But then if I don't kill you, they'll be mad at me." By they, he must have meant his siblings. "Tell you what," he said. "I hear you're helping the chefs make Christmas dinner this year." The boy gave a small, shaky nod. "Well this better be the best dinner ever. If it is, I'll let you live." A pause. "And if it's not," he narrowed his eyes more, "be prepared for a very painful death."

"Y-y-y-yes sir," Gon replied quickly. "I'll do my best, sir." _Come on, hurry up, Killua! What's taking you so long? Let's just grab that anime person and get out of here before he changes his mind and starts shooting laser beams at us out of his eyes! He's talking about killing me here! How the heck am I supposed to prepare "the best"_ _Christmas dinner? What exactly is the best anyway? Your family has professional chefs! Sure I asked them to take the menu we made, but would that really be good enough for him? Doesn't your family have good food everyday, for every meal? Especially Milluki? How is he planning to kill me, anyway? What's his definition of a "painful death"? I can't die, we haven't made those cookies yet! Oh and the icing! We have to go back and make the icing! Why am I talking to myself inside my head? Why is this one-person conversation almost making sense? Why can't I stop talking to myself?_

"Get out of here." Gon snapped back to reality as Milluki's merciless yet comical voice came as he munched on a bag of chips. "And don't let me see you until dinner," Milluki ordered, and ushering and pushing Gon out of the door, he closed the door and went back to gaming.

Outside, Gon took a deep breath, and calmed himself down. All had gone well. He had gotten into Milluki's room, and distracted him so that he would not see Killua "borrowing" his figurine.

But wait.

Where was Killua?

Gon looked around. No one was with him. The gorgeous hallway, with chandeliers and antique doors and carpet, which seemed to match Mrs Zoldick's Victorian doll outfit well, was empty. He was completely alone. "Uh oh," he gasped to himself. His partner in crime must still be in that dreaded room. Needless to say, this was not good. _I need to save him, I can't possibly finish making all those cookies alone, and he's my only ally here. _With that thought in mind, and a lump in his throat, the boy faced the door to Milluki's room once again.

Inside the chamber of horrors, Killua stood quite motionlessly, still behind the display cabinets. His aura was still concealed, and his body was hidden by the life-size model of a blue-haired anime girl wearing her grey school uniform. It was not that he did not want to get the heck out of the room before his brother sees and murders him – he just did not seem to be able to find a way out. Gon had gone out, but he did not keep Milluki's attention away from the door for long enough so that Killua could escape, and now he was trapped inside the cage with a monster known as his older brother, and this was not something he enjoyed.

Gon decided that if he brought something – some kind of peace offering – for Milluki, he would be less likely to be murdered. But what did Milluki like? Cookies? Chips? Candies? He had it all. He did also say that he did not wish to see Gon until dinnertime. But by that time it might be too late.

What if he were to prepare the meal alone, and announce dinner to lure him away, and let Killua sneak away? It seemed reasonable considering the circumstances and the fact that Gon was forgetting that his "best dish" is putting raw eggs on rice and mixing them together.

Impressed with his quick thinking and forgetting that once the angel figuring is on top of the tree, it will be seen by Milluki anyway, Gon marched away.

Killua was left behind the figure, which Milluki narrowed his eyes and glanced at every so often. And every time he did, he would feel a chill down his spine_. I'm so glad I'm not one of those anime characters_, he thought to himself.

**To be continued….**


	7. Chapter 7

**+ Jingle Bells +**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in Hunter x Hunter.

**Dedication:** To Yomi-san. I hope everything is going well.

**Author's Note:** I am aware that most people probably don't remember this; it has been ages since my last update after all. But, like I've been saying (mostly to myself), I will finish this story one day. I just have to reread everything and try not to die from embarrassment, and keep writing.

**+ Chapter 7 +**

Gon thought about his options and quietly decided that the best thing he could do at the moment was to make something so delightful that it would help him win Milluki over. But what? Killua's big brother did not seem to have a large variety of hobbies. Computers and games, Gon knew close to nothing about. Anime figurines seemed like a nice idea, but where would he get one from without a computer? Food was another option, but what could he possibly make that could wow the boy who has probably eaten every kind of food there is?

_I know_, Gon's face brightened suddenly. _I'll just have to make him something he's never eaten!_

While Gon worked happily at his special dish, Killua did not dare make a sound. He was still in hiding, and hoping that his partner in crime would get the heck back to help him out of his brother's room and away from his creepy gaze. Thankfully, Milluki was working through a game where he was on a date with an anime girl and was too focused to notice the unwanted guest in his room. But Killua was not sure that this was any more tolerable than hearing his mother talk of how special her baby boys were.

Upon gathering all the ingredients he could find, Gon realized that there was not much he could work with. The chefs were monopolizing the kitchen, which was understandable, as they could either finish making Christmas dinner or face the wrath of Kikyou. Gon wanted to believe in the good of people, and began right away to make something special out of limited things, just for Milluki. Since it was Christmas, he decided that he would make an anime angel figurine out of popcorn, which the recipient could eat. He would use caramel and chocolate syrup to put them together and candies for decoration. He hoped that Milluki would be moved by holiday spirit and while the food distracted him, Killua would slip right out and away. It was foolproof!

Gon began to stack the popcorn, using melted caramel as glue. Before he knew it, he had finished building the head, body and wings of the angel. The problem came when Gon had to construct the face of his figure, anime style. Overestimating his artistic abilities, Gon began to draw on the head with chocolate syrup with a shaky hand.

It was difficult to say whether the end result resembled a malformed cat or dog with rabies, but Gon was convinced that his figure could melt the heart of even the most cold-blooded assassin. He placed it in a box and wrapped a ribbon around it, then carried the box to Milluki's room.

_Knock, knock._ Gon gulped as he stood before Milluki's doors. He did say, after all, that Gon was not to disturb him.

"You again," Milluki glared at Gon as he opened the door. "What did I say about disturbing me?" Speechlessly, Gon brought forth his offering, which Milluki took questioningly. "What have we here?" he asked.

"It's – it's – it's – it's – it's - " Gon's teeth chattered. But before he could explain, Milluki yanked off the ribbon and opened the box. Raising an eyebrow, he examined Gon's creation.

Killua witnessed the entire event, and was sure that whatever it was that Gon had made could not possibly stand a chance against Milluki's annoyance. He gulped. _What are you doing, Gon? Do you _want_ to be killed? I know you're trying to save me, but – couldn't you have come up with a better idea? What the heck is that thing, anyway? It looks like a huge ball of popcorn smashed together…_

Gon dared not blink. His eyes were fixated on Milluki, who suddenly opened his mouth. To Killua's surprise, his brother was not about to bite Gon's head off.

"You – you made this? For me?" Milluki asked. "It's – it looks exactly like the mutant dog Ricca-chan from the Pretty Soldiers series, Space Aliens Edition!" Gon wore a blank expression, as did Killua, who blinked profusely. _Pretty Soldiers? Space Aliens? Ricca-chan? Mutant dog? Aniki… what exactly _do _you do in your spare time? Do I really want to know? No – probably not._

"Well, uh, I – I hope you like it, I made it just for you," Gon said nervously.

"It's certainly well made," Milluki nodded. "I'll take it. But, you're not off the hook yet. Get back to work."

As Milluki walked back into his room, popcorn mutant dog in hand, Killua slipped out and rejoined Gon once again. Although it puzzled him greatly how the anime or manga or game in question could possibly work, escaping his brother's property was more important. It was not until after, however, that he realized he had forgotten to 'borrow' the angel figurine.

Gon and Killua made their way back to their cooking space quickly and quietly, and discovered that their cookie dough had been chilling quite nicely. It was a little hard due to the excess ingredients tossed in, but the boys were sure that they could make them work.

"What do we do now?" Killua asked, and Gon grabbed the recipe.

"We have to flatten the dough, and cut out different shapes with cookie cutters."

"Okay, how do we do that?"

"With a rolling pin," Gon pointed at the recipe. "Do we have one?"

It was a good question. Locating the right ingredients and materials was hard enough in a ridiculously large kitchen. Killua grabbed one cook's collar and demanded a rolling pin, which he generously provided as he gasped for air.

"There we go," he said, returning to Gon.

"Hmm," Gon thought for a second. "What if we make the cookies shaped like your family?"

Killua laughed and said, "We'd never have enough dough to make piggy," which made Gon chuckle as well.

"We'll have to make all the cookies flat, anyway," Gon said. "We can pile on lots of frosting on the one for your brother."

So the boys got to work. Rolling out the dough proved more difficult than imagined, as the excess butter and sugar caused the dough to come apart easily. The two decided that it would be easier to divide up the work. Killua would make the ones for Gon, Milluki, Silva and Zeno, while Gon would make the ones for Killua, Illumi, Caruto and Kikyou. Whoever finished faster would make some for the servants.

"You still haven't told me the rest of that story, Gon," Killua said as he worked.

"What story?" Gon looked up. "The one Aunt Mito used to tell me?"

Killua nodded.

"Where was I?"

"Orphans decided to have a party together."

"Ah," Gon nodded. "Well, all the kids got together and thought of plans. They would each be in charge of one aspect of the planning, and on Christmas they'd put everything together. One boy, who was supposed to get matches and candles, met a girl on the streets. She was selling matches.

"He invited her to join them, but she refused, saying that she had to sell matches and return to her father. She was freezing out in the cold, and watching others enviously, but she knew she couldn't have what they had – food, warmth, laughter."

Killua raised an eyebrow. This was beginning to sound very familiar.

Gon continued, "Well, so the boy leaves the girl alone and keeps on going, and Christmas morning, he hears that she had died. They found her body along with used matches –"

"Are you sure this isn't _The Little Match Girl_?" Killua interrupted.

"Eh?" Gon blinked.

"Does this girl happen to have had visions when she lit the matches before she died?"

"Aw, spoilers! How did you know?" Gon gasped. "She tells the boy her story when she comes back as a ghost!" he thought for a moment. "Did Kikyou-san tell you this story too, when you were little?"

Killua shuddered at the thought of his eerie mother tucking him in and telling him stories on the night of Christmas Eve. The creepiness was amplified when Gon mentioned that Aunt Mito used to kiss him goodnight after telling him a story, as Killua could not, for the world, imagine his own mother doing so without shedding some cold sweat. "No," Killua answered. "Nevermind."

As the two boys continued to work, Killua thought, _Aunt Mito… she definitely copied that story from The Little Match Girl…_

One by one, Zoldick-shaped cookies were formed. Illumi's looked like a tall mushroom, and Milluki's was simply a circle. Killua twisted some dough into a small spiral and attached it under Milluki's cookie. _Piggy needs a tail_, he chuckled. Since the bottom of the cookie would be baked, chances are, no one would notice this little joke of his. He smiled smugly to himself and carried on.

**To be continued…**


	8. Chapter 8

**+ Jingle Bells +**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters in Hunter x Hunter.

**Dedication:** To Yomi-san.

**Author's Note:** Another chapter? Yeah. I thought it'd be better to continue with it while I still remember. Besides, this is more fun than studying for a test.

**+ Chapter 8 +**

"So Gon," Killua said as his friend pushed the tray of cookies into the oven and set the timer. "How exactly did you get the idea to make that mutant dog thing?"

Gon scratched his head. "Well… it was supposed to be an angel figure…"

"He said it looks exactly like that dog character though."

"I don't see it," Gon made a face. "It was supposed to be an angel. How could it look like anything else? It's my best work yet."

His companion knew that it would be no use to argue with him and his cheery optimism, and dismissed the matter. Instead, he knelt to the oven and gazed in, hoping to witness cookie-baking in action. Waiting for the dough to cook was such a tedious task, however, and Killua was unimpressed. While the oven did its thing, Gon and Killua decided to organize the rest of their Christmas party.

"So far, we have the food that's being prepared by the chefs," Killua stated.

"Cookies are in the oven," Gon added.

"The tree and room are decorated."

"We can put the presents under the tree," Gon said. "This time maybe without being attacked."

Killua let out a laugh. "Anything else?"

"Hmm…"

Killua thought long and hard. They had to think of every detail, because this party had to be perfect in every way. It was not only that Gon's life probably depended on this, no – if this party did not go flawlessly, then Christmas spirit would be ruined! And the turkey! The delicious, golden-brown turkey! And dessert! How could he forget dessert? The chef made a huge selection every Christmas, just to satisfy Killua's sweet tooth. It was totally out of the goodness of the pastry chef, and not because Killua had threatened him once upon a time, a long time ago.

"Killua!" A tug on the sleeve brought the silver-haired boy back to reality. His companion was eyeing him suspiciously. "Are you hungry or something?"

"N-no," Killua responded quickly. Too quickly, perhaps.

"You're drooling," Gon pointed, and Killua wiped his mouth vigorously with his sleeve straight away.

"A-anyway," Killua said, attempting to change the subject, "I think we have everything. I just hope they don't ruin it after all our hard work." By they, he, of course, meant the infamous trio.

"Killua!" Gon exclaimed suddenly. "We forgot the angel on top of the tree!"

"Right! How could we forget about that after everything we went through?" Killua made a face. "Okay, now, what can we use?"

"Instead of your brother's anime figure?" Gon asked. "I don't think we thought that through, Killua. The figure wouldn't have stayed too well atop a tree."

"Yeah, we would've had to tie it to the tree, and it would've been more like witch hunt and burning than Christmas…"

It was indeed difficult to resolve this issue. Killua tapped his foot rhythmically as he thought, his arms crossed. He grunted occasionally, looking over at his friend to see whether he had any ideas, but neither did. Gon sat on the kitchen floor, glancing around for possible inspiration. But it was no use, for all he could see were people running around busily in preparation for dinner.

_Hmm_, Gon thought_, It'd have to be something either angel- or star-shaped. And it should be shiny and eye-catching. I guess angel is out of the question; the closest thing to that was Killua's brother's figurine, and that wouldn't work. We're definitely not going to risk getting killed again. Hmm…_

_Why do we have to have something on top of the tree again? _Killua raised an eyebrow. _Oh, right, something about tradition. We never really had parties though, just dinners as a family. Father thought it'd be a good idea to get together once a year at least, to sit down and have dinner together and make awkward small talk. _

As fate would have it, what the boys could use for the tree was sitting right in front of them. Gon, having made this realization first, jumped to the object. "Killua!" he said, picking up the cooling rack. "This is shiny and metallic! We can bend this into the shape of a star and fit it for the tree!"

"You're right, Gon, let's do it!" Killua said excitedly.

With that, the two began to bend and reshape the cooling rack into the shape of a star, without, of course, thinking of the fact that they would be needing the utensil very soon, for the cookies. They did manage to, however, make a nice, three-dimensional silver star to go atop the Christmas tree, and were very much proud of their accomplishment. Why neither thought of using something else as raw material, no one ever found out.

"You okay, Gon?" Killua inquired, steadying himself in front of the tree. He supported Gon, who struggled to reach the tip of the tree, on his shoulders.

"A little to the right," Gon replied.

Killua took a step to the right. To the well-trained assassin, Gon's weight was not a problem. The kids' combined height, however, was, and failed to rival the stature of the tree, which stood before them proudly. Its lights blinked mockingly at them, as if to ridicule the manner in which two extremely skilled children were struggling against a mere half-decorated tree.

"Did you get it?" Killua asked. "You just have to put the hoop on the bottom of the star through the top of the tree. It's not that hard."

"Almost… there…," Gon said, his outreached hand extended to the fullest. "Got it," he sighed with relief finally, as the star rested firmly. He hopped down to the floor and wore an expression of triumph.

It was soon after their struggle that Gon and Killua realized something – something dark and smoky; something dangerous and destructive.

"Ahh!" Killua let out a yelp. "We totally forgot the cookies!"

With that, they sprinted back to the kitchen, where their smoking oven awaited. The excess sugar and butter had caused the dough to catch fire, and by the time they managed to get the "cookies" out of the oven, it was already too late. The casualty was enormous.

"Three thousand five hundred degrees?" Killua cried as he reached to turn off the oven. "What the heck, Gon?"

"The recipe said three-fifty," Gon whined, looking disappointedly at the burnt cookies.

"Geez, Gon, you pressed one too many zeros," Killua shook his head.

"But, what kind of oven goes up to over three thousand degrees?" Gon retorted.

Killua sighed. "Milluki…"

He had forgotten that this oven was one of the amazing creations of Milluki. The brilliant boy of the family, gifted with a brain for technological inventions, had designed an oven that could reduce a body into ashes in mere seconds. Evidence could be destroyed right away, leaving no trace of a dead body. What he failed to account for was, however, that he would have to drag this humongous block of metal with him whenever he had an assignment. Thus the oven was donated to the kitchen, where it might be put to better use.

"A-anyway," Killua said quickly. "I guess we'd better think of something else."

"Yeah… the cookies are totally ruined," Gon sighed.

It was now only a couple of hours until the Zoldicks would wake up. The time to wake usually varied for different members of the family, but on days when the entire family decided to get together, they were surprisingly synchronistic.

Once the assassin family was up, the surprise might be ruined. The boys had to limit their party plans to the one room, behind closed doors, so that they would not risk being seen by others during the process of preparation. They had forgotten, completely, that most of the Zoldicks had already seen their plans during the assassination attempt.

"Well, we're pretty much set," Killua said, carrying with him the blackened cookies on the tray. "We've gotten most of the stuff ready."

"But we still don't have anything special that we made ourselves," Gon said.

"We can still decorate these cookies," Killua shrugged. "Not that we can eat them."

"Then they're not cookies," Gon made a face. "They're just… people-shaped lumps of black stuff."

Killua snapped his fingers and his expression brightened. "I've got it! We go ahead and decorate these anyway, and hang them on the tree! It'll make the tree extra personalized."

"Okay, but what about the edible thing we were going to make?"

"I have an idea for that too. Follow me," Killua pushed aside the tray and headed for the door. "We're going to have to raid the kitchen again," he said.

Quickly and quietly, Gon and Killua went back to the kitchen where freshly made breakfast items were sitting on a table. Because it was Christmas, there were also Christmas-themed foods available. Killua had his eyes on the gingerbread cookies.

"Gon," Killua said, ignoring the chefs that were working nearby, who did not dare ask one of their masters what he was doing. "Take the gingerbread cookies. I'll grab some icing and sprinkles." Gon nodded and complied.

Back in the party room, Killua and Gon got to work straight away. Gon was in charge of decorating the blackened "cookies", for his friend did not appreciate his artistic talents enough to allow him to work on the professionally made gingerbread cookies. ("The popcorn angel figure was way too… _inventive_," Killua said.) He was to use coloured icing to paint on facial features and clothing, and craft a small hole through which a string would pass.

Killua, on the other hand, had the job of customizing gingerbread cookies into Zoldicks and Gon. _Somehow_, Killua thought to himself as he drew on giant, catlike eyes for Gingerbread Illumi,_ the cookies seem less appetizing when they look like my family… _He shuddered, and moved onto Gingerbread Kikyou.

**To be continued…**


End file.
